Tide and lock power engine



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TIDE AND LOOK-POWER ENGINE.

No. 400,500. Patented Apr. 2, 1889'.

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I A E SMITH TIDE AND LOCK POWER. ENGINE.

No. 400,500. Patented Apr. 2 1889,.

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- TIDE AND LOCK EOWEE ENGINE. I No. 400,500. Patented Apr. 2, 1889..

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Fholo-Lilhogmphcr. washin mh u c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AsA'E. SMITH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

TIDE AND LOCK POWER ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 400,500, dated April 2, 1889. Application iiled November 15,1898. Serial No. 290,911. (No modeh) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ASA F. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tide and Look Power Engines;

and I do declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to mechanism for utilizing the buoyant properties of fluids and converting the rise and fall orchange of level of g the same into power that will be subservient to the will of man and can be employed in the useful arts to drive machinery of all kinds, and which is especially adapted to convert the ebb and flow tide of the sea and of rivers and streams tributary thereto into use ful energy and dynamic force. It is not always desirable or convenient to locate the mechanism near the sea, and hence special means are provided whereby a lock, watershaft, or tank will answer the same purpose, the water or other fluid being alternately let into the said tank at proper intervals and exhausted to produce an artificial ebb and flow or rise and fall of the water to effect a corresponding movement of afloat placed in said shaft or tank, through which. and by suitable connections the power is applied to said mechanism, by means of which it is converted into available force or energy.

The improvement consists, first, in one or more drums, and in a cable or cables connected with a float and wound around the drums in reverse directions, so that as the float rises the cable willbe unwound from one drum and the cable of the Otherdrum will be wound all tide-waters during the interval between the ebb and flow of the tide.

Thirdly, the invention consists in mechanism whereby the power shaft can be driven continuously in either direction whether the float is rising or falling.

Fourthly, the invention consists in the devices for controlling the induction and the eduction of the fluid from the water shaft or tank; and, finally, the improvement consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and adaptation of parts, which will be hereinafter morefully described and claimed.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification, and in which.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the mechanism connecting the dru m-shafts with the power-shaft, the first drum-shaft being driven to the left. Fig. 4 is a similar view with the intermediate pinion, O, in gear to propel the shaft N in the same direction when the power-shaft is driven to the right. Fig. 5 is a modification. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the pendulum escapement or governor. Fig. 7 is a detailed view of one.

end of the drum, showing the means for shifting it and its shaft lengthwise in its bearings. Fig. 8 is a detailed view in elevation, showing the relative arrangement'of the gearwheelF and the pinions h and O; and Fig. 9 is a detailed view of the gear-wheels F and M and the pinions h and 0, showing the manner of throwing the gear-wheels F and M in and out of gear with the shaft H by dotted lines. I

The float may be a vessel, A, as shown in Fig. 5, a floating chamber or other buoyant body, as shown in Figs. 1' and 2, and is connected with the drums B and B by cables b and b, which are wound on the said drums in reverse directions.

Inv Fig. 1 the cable 1') passes over a pulley, Z2 on the bracket 1), which is secured to the standard D, and connects with the upper end of the float C on the upright standard or pipe 0 thereof; or it may pass over a pulley on the top of the water shaft or tank E, thence around pulleys suitably arranged at the bottom of the said shaft or tank, and connect with the bottom of the float,as clearly shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the purpose of said arrangement being to allow the float to draw on one cable and unwind it from the drum durin g the ascent of said float. In said Fig. l the cable 7) passes over a pulley, W, on the said standard D and connects with the rod 0 of the float. In Fig. 5 the cable Z) passes over the pulley b and is fastened to the vessel A at a place nearly opposite the pulley b at low water. The cable 1) passes over the said double pulley Z) in an opposite direction, and is fastened to the vessel near its load-water line. The cable I) is wound on the drum Bin one direction, and the cable Z) is wound on the drum B in the opposite direction. By preference the two drums are mounted one upon either end of the shaft 13 which is provided with the gear-wheel F, and which is mounted on bearings 011 the support G.

The shaft H, parallel with the shaft B and having the pinion h keyed thereon, which is in mesh with the gear-wheel F, is provided with drums I and I, which are free to turn on the said shaft, being keyed thereon by the half-clutches 2' and z" and the half-clutches i and 1' on the inner ends of the said drums I and I, which latter are moved on the shaft II by the levers J 2 and J which are adapted to move lengthwise in the standards in which the ends of the shaft H are journaled, and which have their ends fitted in annular grooves j andj in the outer ends of the said drums I and I.

The cables K and K, wound around the drums I and I in reverse directions, each pass over a pulley on the top of the standards L and L, and have weights 7c and 7;, at their ends, which weights run in suitable pockets, M and M, in the support G. The gear-wheel M on the shaft H meshes with the pinion m on the shaft N, which has the fly-wheel a on one end and the band-wheel u on the other end.

' The operation of the device is as follows: The rising and falling of the float through the medium of the cables I) and Z) eflects a rotary motion of the shaft B alternately in reverse directions, and through the gearing hereinbefore described produces a motion of the shaft N, from which the power is taken by means of a belt (not shown) passing over the band-pulley it. However, that the shaft N may be driven continuously in the same direction, the intermediate pinion, 0, mounted on a shortshaft and adapted to be thrown in and out of gear with the gear-wheel F and the pinion h, is provided, being operated by the lever P, which is arranged to move in the standard 19, and which has its ends fitted in an annular groove, 0, in the end of the pinion O.

hen the gear-wheel F, )inion O, and pinion h are in gear, the gear-wheel F and the pinion h are out of gear, and vice versa, the change being effected simultaneously at the moment the float begins to change its direction of mo tion. hen work is not required to be performed or the power is in excess of the work, the intermediate gearing is not used, the drums I and l are keyed to the shaft H alternately with the rise and fall of the float, and the weights k and 7c are wound up. The power thus stored is held in reserve until required and is controlled by a governor, one being provided for each drum, consisting of an escapement-wheel, Q, and pendulum q.

It will be readily understood that both drums are not geared to shaft H at the same time, as a loss of power would result, in that one weight would be unwound as the other was wound up. Suppose the float is rising and the drum I is geared to the shaft H and the weight k is unwinding on the said drum I. Then the drum I will be out of gear with the said shaft II. Now, when the float begins to descend, the gearing remaining unattended or unaltered, the drum I will be rotated in the reverse direction; but to prevent the loss of stored power by the unwinding of the weight the drum I is ungeared from the shaft H, and to store power by the winding of the weight k the drum 1 is geared to the shaft H, as will be readily comprehended.

Fig. 5 shows a construction in which the movements of the float are controlled by the ebb and flow of the tide. In Figs. 1 and 2 the float is caused to rise and fall by the ingress and egress of water in the shaft or tank E, the water being admitted through the pipe R and drawn off through the pipe R. The gate S, for closing the end of the pipe R, is carried on the end of the rod T, which extends across the shaft or tank from one side to the other and is pivoted at I.

The gate S, for closing the end of the pipe R, is connected with the gate S by the rod 8, and has a projection, 8, extending within the path of the float, to be struck thereby. As the float descends, and when reaching the limit of its downward movement, it strikes the projection s and closes the gate S, and at the same time opens the gate S. The water, entering at R, fills the shaft or tank and effects an upward movement of the float,which near the limit of its ascension impinges against the rod'T and closes the gate S, at the same time opening the gate S, which allows the water to escape and the float to descend.

The shaft B is movable endwise in its bearings, being moved by means of the levers J or J, which have their ends fitted in the annular grooves d and d, respectively, in the ends of the drums B and B, to disengage the gear-wheel F from the pinion h, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4, for a dual purposefirst, to throw the shaft B out of mesh with the shaft II when the weights 7: and 7c are brought into use, and, secondly, to permit the pinion O to be thrown into gear with the gearwheels F and M It will be understood that the pinion O is adapted to rotate freely on its shaft; hence when in the position shown in Fig. 2, if the gear-wheel F is thrown in mesh therewith, no

power or movement will be imparted from the float to the other parts of the machine, as will be readily comprehended.

It will be understood that in using the term float I do not restrict myself to any particular form of float, but use the word in its broadest sense as applied to any structure floating in or upon fluid, and while I have described the use of gear-wheels as used in transmitting power I do not restrict myself to "such use, as it is evident that belts or other devices adapted to such use, may be substituted therefor.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim to be new is=.

1. The herein-described machine for utilizing the buoyant properties of fluids and the varying level of the same as a power medium, the same being composed of a float, the two drums, the cables connecting the float with the drums and wound around the said drums in reverse directions, the power-shaft geared with the drums, and means, as the pinion O and the endwise-movable shaft B for maintaining a continuous rotary movement of the power-shaft in the same direction whether the said float be rising or falling, substantially as described.

2. The herein-described mechanism for converting the buoyant properties of fluids and the change of level of the same into available I power, consisting of the float, the two drums,

gearing the drums to the shaft H, thepowershaft geared with the said shaft H, the gear wheel F, pinion h, and movable pinion 0, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. The combination, with the shaft H, the drums on the said shaft, the weighted cables wound in reverse directions on the drums, means for keying the drums to the shaft at will, and the power-shaft in gear with and revolved from the said shaft H, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afflx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

- ASA F. SMITH.

Witnessesz THOMAS F. MURTHA, v HARRY T. WEEKs. 

